Electronic equipment frequently generates heat during operation and requires cooling in order to prevent the electronic equipment from over-heating and possibly failing. One common type of cooling involves the use of fans arranged so as to force the circulation of air from the outside around the electronic equipment. In this process, hot air from the inside is replaced with cooler air from the outside. The cooler air from the outside is circulated around the electronic equipment, thereby cooling the electronic equipment.
One problem with this approach is that the outside air may be contaminated with moisture and/or dust. The moisture and/or dust in the outside air may adversely affect the operation of the electronic equipment. This problem may be particularly troublesome in outdoor installations wherein the equipment cabinet is exposed to all elements of the weather.
Another approach that has been developed to help account for the elements of the weather is to use a cooling system having a dry side and a wet side. In this approach, air interior to the equipment cabinet is circulated over a series of cooling fins in one direction. Air exterior to the equipment cabinet is circulated over the cooling fins in another direction. The exterior air acts to cool the cooling fins. The lower temperature of the cooling fins then acts to cool the interior air that is flowing over the cooling fins. In this manner, the air from the wet side is separated from the air in the dry side, and the electronic equipment is cooled by lowering the temperature of the interior air, rather than bringing in cooler air from the outside.
This approach, however, also has problems. For example, the arrangements often involve two fans on opposite ends of the heat exchanger enclosure. One fan is used to circulate the air on the dry side, and one fan is used to circulate the air on the wet side. If the fan on the dry side is located on the bottom and the fan on the wet side is located on the top, then the fan on the dry side located at the bottom is circulating the cooler air in the bottom of the equipment enclosure rather than the hot air in the top of the equipment enclosure. If the fan on the wet side is located on the bottom and the fan on the dry side is located on the top, then the fan on the wet side often circulates dust from the ground into the heat exchanger, and the fan may be covered with vegetation around the equipment cabinet.
Accordingly, there is a need for a heat exchanger to effectively and efficiently cool electronic equipment.